Our History

Christ the Good Shepherd existed as two separate congregations before 1970. Before that merger, the congregations were Christ Lutheran Church and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. See where we got our name?

Christ Lutheran Church

Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd

Christ started as a branch Sunday School of the Regional Home Mission Committee of Immanuel Lutheran Church (which was in downtown San Jose. They officially organized as a congregation in August of 1948. Years later, they began construction at a property at 14480 Foxworthy Ave. They built a sanctuary and other meeting space on that site and continued to develop as a community. Pastors came and went. People came and went. They did things together like Luther League, Sunday School, Anniversaries, and probably tons more. After a change in pastoral leadership, Christ Lutheran operated with a deficit budget from 1967-1970. During that time there were 752 baptized people associated with the congregation. Sunday morning worship was an average of 220 people and Sunday School was an average of 228 people.In April of 1970, the people of Christ proposed a consolidation of congregations to the people of Good Shepherd.

In 1946 the community that became LCGS was only a satellite Sunday School of the downtown Immanuel Lutheran Church. Within two years it became an officially chartered worshipping community with 55 adults and 28 children. In 1951 the congregation purchased the land at 1550 Meridian Ave. where our building stands now.They broke ground and began work within 6 months and the people of the community donated over 4000 hours of their labor to the build. A year later they had also built the parsonage and were now 248 adults. They continued to grow, change, and evolve. In 1958 their life together warranted the building of an educational wing and they dedicated that space on their 10th anniversary. In 1960 they decided that a new, larger sanctuary was also appropriate for their growing community that had reached 425 adults, 234 children, and was blooming new ministries. They broke ground on the now infamous front facade of the property in 1965. In 1970 their pastor departed the congregation and after saying goodbye to him, the people of LCGS began to consider the proposed consolidation with Christ Lutheran.

The consolidation of two congregations began in 1970

This process took a long time, and had many small steps of experimentation and relationship building. The congregations began worshipping together, switching and sharing the locations of the worship services. They also began combining their activities like youth group and vacation church school. They began to publish one newsletter together and Pastor Thalman began serving as pastor to people of both congregations. Both congregations had many opportunities to discuss the pros and cons of consolidation, to vote on small steps, and to build relationships. In 1971 they voted to merge and became one worshipping congregation. Some people took the opportunity to worship elsewhere, some people were attracted to the change.From that point on CGS evolved constantly. They sold property, they said farewell and hello to staff, leadership revolved, and events and traditions waxed and waned. The community debated science and religion, social issues, and values of their faith. From the 70s through the 80s, CGS experience the same cultural shift that other white Protestant churches were experiencing. Cultural norms no longer included church membership. Involvement in community needs changed as San Jose and Willow Glen boomed. CGS was changed by and changed with the evolution of the community. CGS welcomed Mariposa school, and later, Carden school as tenants on their property. In the late 80s CGS undertook the process to become a Reconciling in Christ Congregation, a program of Reconciling Works, in which they publicly welcomed and celebrated the LGBTQ community. CGS participated in an ecumenical effort called the Health Trust to organize holistic health service and care to valley residents. In the 90s the congregation experienced some turmoil in their leadership and spent a couple years healing from that struggle. In the early 2000s CGS experienced a decade or so of peace and slow prosperity. Relationships were strengthened, people were empowered to leadership, and the community found the energy to be active disciples of Jesus Christ. With bright energy in 2015 they embarked to identify and articulate a common mission in the community, which brings us to who they are today.